Children for Families or Families for Children: The Demography of Adoption Behavior in the U.S.

235 Pages·2011·2.08 MB·English

by  Mary Ann Davis (auth.)

Children for Families or Families for Children
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Mary Ann Davis
Children for Families
or Families for Children
The Demography of Adoption Behavior
in the U.S.
123
MaryAnnDavis
SamHoustonStateUniversity
DepartmentofSociology
POBox2466
77341-2446HuntsvilleTexas
USA
[email protected]
ISSN1389-6784
ISBN978-90-481-8971-7 e-ISBN978-90-481-8972-4
DOI10.1007/978-90-481-8972-4
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Preface
MyinitialinterestinadoptionbeganwhenIwasagraduatestudentattheUniversity
of Texas at Arlington, School of Social Work, which offered an internship at the
EdnaGladneyMaternityhome.Duringthisperiodtherevolutionofsinglewomen
keepingtheirchildrenandraisingthemassingleparentswasbeginningalongwith
thetransitionfromsecrettoopenadoptions.ThiswasalsotheerawhenfellowTexan
Sara Weddington was the winning attorney in the 1973 Roe vs. Wade Supreme
Court decision. The legality of abortions (along with the availability of improved
contraception and the increased social acceptance of single parenthood) ended the
maternity home movement. Almost immediately, the abundance of healthy White
infantsavailableforadoptionendedandtheacceptableadopteeintheadoptiontriad
morphed into any child of any age, race, ethnicity, health, or ability for which an
adoptivefamilycouldbelocated.
My first professional social worker position was as an adoption worker for the
StateofTexas,workingtoplacethehardtoplacechildincludingminorities,sibling
groups, and children who had emotional and physical scars of abuse. Prior to the
early1970sthesechildrenwouldhavebeenconsideredunadoptable.Themajority
ofadoptionseekerscontinuedtobethemarried,infertileorsub-fecund,essentially
the same population who in the past would have adopted from maternity homes.
AlthoughtheywouldhavepreferredahealthyWhiteinfanthadthesechildrenbeen
available,theculturalandlegalchangesthatdroveanarrowerscopeofavailability
ledtoabroaderacceptanceofwhotheywouldadopt.Somyspecialareaofinterest
isinstudyingthechangesinwhoisadoptableandtheadoptionsoffosterchildren
andhard-to-placechildren.Later,Iwasaclinicalsocialworkerinastatepsychiatric
facility with psychologically and behaviorally impaired juveniles, many of whom
hadbeenadoptedasyoungerchildren.Now,asademographer,Irelyonmyclinical
socialworkbackgroundtodirectmyresearchinadoptionissues.
Althoughadoptionsrepresentasmallportionoffamilygrowth,fromademogra-
pher’spointofviewitissignificant.TheUnitedNations(2009,p.xv)estimatesthat
approximately260,000childrenareadoptedeachyear;ofthesein2001theUnited
States (U. S.) adopted 127,000 children; next in frequency is China, with 46,000
adoptions and the Russian Federation, with 23,000 adoptions. The 2000 United
States census data are that in the United States in 2000, there were 2.1 million
adopted children, about 2.5 percent by age group, with an additional 4.4 million,
v
vi Preface
aboutfive percent,stepchildreninhouseholds (Kreider,2003,p.2).Adopted chil-
dren were 7.7 percent or 6,443,496 of the 84 million household children; 257,792
wereforeignbornadoptees(Kreider,2003,p.12).
Second,therearechangesinallthreeaspectsoftheadoptivetriad:theadopter,
the adopted child and the family members who relinquish the child for adop-
tive placement. Social acceptance of racial and ethnic groups, along with physical
and emotional challenges, has changed dramatically in the past 100 years. These
changesaffectthefrequencyofchildadoptions,thetypesofadoptionsandvariables
related to the children who are adopted such as their age, race, ethnicity, physi-
calandemotionalhealthandcountryofadoption).Sincetheearly1970sadoptive
parentsarenolongerWhite,middletoupperclass,financiallysecure,marriedcou-
ples.Increasinglyracialminorities;thosewithlowerincomes;olderages;relatives,
includinggrandparents;andthesingle,divorcedandcohabitingaswellasthemar-
ried adopt. Data from the 2007 National Survey of Adoptive Persons (NSAP) in
Chapter 1 describe the demographic characteristics of the adoptive parents by the
types of adoptions. Next, Chapter 4 uses the National Survey of Family Growth
(NSFG) to present current demographic analyses detailing the characteristics of
thosewhoadopt.Chapter6addressesgayandlesbianadopterswhoareincreasingly
adopting,butaredifficulttostudyduetodataissues.
Thechildrenwhoareconsideredavailableforadoptionandthosewhoareactu-
ally adopted have changed dramatically in the last half of a century. Criteria that
once, during the post World War II adoption boom, selected only certain young,
healthy, infants for adoption have expanded intothriving fostercare adoption pro-
grams for hard- to-place children. The current perspective of the Child Welfare
League of America is that adoption of all children, including sibling groups, is
only limited by the ability to recruit families who meet the specific child’s needs.
Demographers report on both trends and outliers. Chapter 1, addresses who is the
preferredchild,throughdatafromtheNationalSurveyofAdoptiveParents,which
describes who is adopted by the three types of adopters (Intercountry, Foster Care
andDomesticPrivate).Next,datafromtheAdoptionandFosterCareAnalysisand
Reporting System provides a picture of the foster children adopted in 2004 and
2005.ThisdiscoursecontinuesinChapter2,ahistoricalperspectiveofsocialnorms
of which children were preferred for adoption. Chapters 6, 7 and 8 give an inter-
national perspective on the adopted child. These changing norms are evident in a
majorfilmdirectedbyHancock(2009)TheBlindSide,whichtellsthefictionalized
but true story of a wealthy White Christian family adopting an African American,
innercity,homelessteen,whobecameaprofessionalfootballplayer.
Who adopts? Adoptive parent(s) have changed since the early 1970s. They
are no longer White, middle to upper class, financially secure, married couples.
Increasingly they are racial minorities; those with lower incomes; of older age;
relatives, including grandparents; the single, divorced and cohabiting as well as
thosewhoaremarried.InChapter4,ChristineGuarnericollaborateswiththisauthor
topresentademographicanalysisofthosewhoadoptusingtheNSFGCycle6.
Characteristics of placing and relinquishing families are also changing. Dual
issues of protecting families from dissolution in times of financial stress and
Preface vii
protectingtherightsofparentsareaddressedalongwiththerecognitionthatthepsy-
chologicalanddevelopmentalneedsofchildrenarenegativelyaffectedbylengthy
periods awaiting legal clearance for adoption. Chapter 2 provides a historical
perspective;Chapters6through9aninternationalperspective.
Third, we are on the cusp of significant changes in the availability of having
sufficient data pertaining to adoptions for demographic analysis. Data issues are
exploredinChapter3.Unfortunately,accuratestatisticsregardingtwentieth-century
adoptions are almost impossible to locate. A national reporting system existed for
only 30 years (from 1945 to 1975) and even during this period, data were sup-
pliedbystatesandterritoriesonapurelyvoluntarybasis(AdoptionHistoryProject
(2008). This social demography of adoption in the United States will address the
need for compiling current available data, while continuing to address data needs;
inChapters3and9.
These justifications for the relevancy of a social demography of adoptions led
to a compilation of social demographic topics pertaining to the changing face of
adoption. What is the history of adoption in the U.S? What data are available for
demographic analysis? Who are the adopters, the adoptees, and those who place
theirchildrenforadoption(e.g.theadoptiontriad)?Whatarethecriteriaforbeing
adoptees or adopters? Why do persons adopt? How many children do they adopt,
theirages,raceandethnicity,physicalandpsychologicalhealth,countryoforigins,
relationshiptotheadopter?Internationally,whosendsandwhoreceivesadoptees?
Why are intercountry adoptees available for adoption and how does this vary by
countryoforigin?Howdoadoptionsvarywithinthetypesofadoption(formalver-
susinformaladoptions;theadoptionofrelatedversusunrelatedchildren;domestic
versusintercountryadoptions;andprivateversusfosterchildadoptions)?
Theresponsetothislistofquestionswasrefinedintothreeparts.Thefirstpart,
Overview:Chapters1and2,providesabriefoverviewoftheadoptionoforphaned,
abandoned,orvoluntarilyplacedchildrenandthelawsregulatingthoseadoptions.
Chapter1,“AdoptionasaSupportSystemforOrphaned,Abandoned,orVoluntarily
PlacedChildren”,discusseswhoadoptsandjustifiestherelevancyofadoptionasa
supportsystemfororphaned,abandoned,orvoluntarilyplacedchildrenusingdata
from the first national survey of adoptive families, the 2007 National Survey of
Adoptive Parents. This chapter also addresses adoption of “hard to place” chil-
dren using administrative data from the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and
ReportingSystem.Chapter2,‘History:TheChangingFaceofAdoption”,provides
a historical background of adoption practices in the United States beginning with
theprecolonialErathroughthepresent.
The next part, A Demographic Analysis of Adoptions in the United States:
Chapters 3, 4 and 5, presents a demographic analysis of adoptions. Chapter 3:
“Sources of Adoption Data”, addresses both the sources and limitations of
adoption data. International data for adoption analyses are primarily from The
Hague Convention statistical reports; U. S. data are primarily from United States
CensusandthestateDepartment’simmigrationstatisticalreportsandtwoNational
Center for Health Statistics surveys (the National Survey of Family Growth,
and the National Survey of Adoptive Parents). Chapter 4, Adoption Behavior of
viii Preface
UnitedStates Women, continues the data discourse by analyzing adoptions using
Cycle6oftheNationalSurveyofFamilyGrowth(RefertoGrovesetal.,2005and
Chapter3foradditionalinformationabouttheNationalSurveyofFamilyGrowth).
This chapter (first author Christine Guarneri) uses the female respondent files to
analyze the demographic characteristics of adopters such as age, race and ethnic-
ity,educationlevel,incomelevelandmaritalstatus.Chapter5,“Demographicand
Social Issues of Same-Sex Adoptions”, addresses the special issues related to gay
and lesbian adoptions. This chapter that provides both a discussion of the back-
ground and legal issues surrounding gay and lesbian adoptions with limited data
analysis using United States Census data, the 2000 IPUMS 5 percent sample, and
anattitudinalsurveyquestionfromCycle6oftheNationalSurveyofFamilyGrowth
toexploresamesexadoptions.
PartIII,IntercountryAdoptions:Chapters6,7and8,exploresintercountryadop-
tions. Chapter 6: “Intercountry Adoption to the United States” sets the stage for
a demographic analysis of intercountry adoptions to the United States by provid-
ing a social historical perspective. This chapter provides review of the historical
trendsinintercountryadoption,throughfourwavesofintercountryadoptionsbegin-
ning with World War II. I examine historical immigration data from the United
States State Department to explore intercountry adoption from World War II to
date. In Chapter 7, “Intercountry Adoption to the United States: A Quantitative
Analysis”providesananalysisofimmigrationdataoftheseintercountryadoptions,
questioning whether demographic variables used in other migration research can
be used to predict the flow of intercountry adoptions (ICAs) to the United States.
Chapter8,“GlobalIntercountryAdoptions”,expandsthisintercountryanalysistoa
globalanalysisofintercountryadoptions,usingUnitedNationsdatafromtheHague
Conventioncountriestoanalyzeglobalintercountryadoptions.
Chapter 9, “Conclusion and Implications”, integrates information from earlier
chapters to conceptualize an overall framework for the future of the demographic
analysisofadoptionsaddressingthepolicyandresearchimplications.
References
TheAdoptionHistoryProject.(2008).Adoptionhistoryinbrief.RetrievedJanuary8,2008,from
http://www.uoregon.edu/~adoption/topics/adoptionhistbrief.htm
Groves,R.M.,Benson,G.,Mosher,W.D.,Rosenbaum,J.,Granda,P.,Lepkowski,J.,etal.(2005).
Planandoperationofcycle6ofthenationalsurveyoffamilygrowth.Nationalcenterforhealth
statistics.VitalHealthStatistics,1,42.
Hancock,J.L.,Director.(2009).TheBlindSideWarnerBrothersProduction.
Kreider,R.M.(2003).Adoptedchildrenandstepchildren:2000UnitedStatescensus.Retrieved
August30,2007,fromhttp://www.census.gov/prod/2003pubs/censr-6.pdf
United Nations. (2009). Child adoptions: Trends and policies. Sales No. E.10.XIII.4. Retrieved
December14,2010,fromhttp://www.un.org/esa/population/publications/adoption2010/child_
adoption.pdf
Acknowledgements
IwouldliketoacknowledgewithgratitudetheencouragementofDudleyL.Poston
Jr.andChristineGuarnerifortheinspirationandstimulustoauthorthisbook.The
conception began with a discussion at a conference among Dudley L. Poston, Jr.,
Christine Guarneri and me, Mary Ann Davis, about changes in adoption during
the National Survey of Family Growth Surveys. Dr. Poston and colleague Ruth
Cullen investigated the demography of adoptions using the National Survey of
Family Growth (NSFG) in the 1980s. They found that adopters were significantly
unchanged from the peak years of adoptions which occurred along with the baby
boom immediately following World War II. White, middle class women, at zero
parity,withhighersocioeconomicstatus,andhighereducationweremorelikelyto
adopt. However, harbingers of changes in adoptions were also evident in relative
adoptions among blacks, the poor and those with lower education while unrelated
adoptions were more common among Whites, and the well-educated with higher
incomes. Dr. Poston learned that Dr. Guarneri and I had begun to independently
study the current 2002 NSFG Cycle 6; he strongly encouraged our research. The
collaborationwithDr.GuarneriispresentedinChapter4;sheisthefirstauthorof
Chapter4.
Finally, I would like to acknowledge and thank my husband Ronald Davis and
his ongoing assistance and editing. This book has been years in the making and I
couldnothavecompleteditwithouthissupport.Ialsowanttothankmycolleagues
atSamHoustonStateUniversityfortheirongoingencouragement,includingKaren
HusbandwhoassistedinearliereditsofChapter2.
Huntsville,TX MaryAnnDavis
ix